


If I Could Make You Stop And Take A Look At Me

by kaikim



Category: A Pink (Band), EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cruise Ship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaikim/pseuds/kaikim
Summary: Oh Sehun usually goes after and gets what he wants, but to do that he has to know what he wants.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2014 for the maknaerulez exchange! There are so many references to fandom specific things from back then; if you catch even half of them and you're still in fandom you should talk to me lol.
> 
> Crossposted from [here](http://maknaerulez.livejournal.com/11639.html) and also my old lj. Stand Out by Powerline (Tevin Cambell)

Jongin chewed at his thumb, cuticle caught between his front teeth as his left hand hovered over the touch pad; waiting for him to be sure he wanted to click send. Really, he didn’t know why it was taking him so long; it had been three years since he’d last seen Kyungsoo and, despite the fact that he’d known Lu Han longer, he still hadn’t managed to get his two best friends to meet each other. This summer job was the perfect opportunity; Lu Han always came on Jongin’s first cruise of the season, just to hang around, and Jongin had enough seniority on staff now to throw his weight around and set aside four jobs for Kyungsoo and his friends from his university (it didn’t hurt that the staff supervisor was Chanyeol, either).

_“On now,_ Schoolboys’ Secrets: Full Moon. _Up next,_ Alien Landing. _After that,_ United Forces, _all on today’s schedule for Planet X, on Soul Motion Network.”_

Jongin whipped his head towards the television as the voice over began and then up at the clock. Teeth pulling at his thumb pad he muttered around the digit, “Schoolboys’ Secrets is on? When did it get to be six o’clock?” He hesitated once more before hitting send and slamming the laptop shut, then moving from his desk to the couch to watch his show. He settled in as the opening strains of the theme song played, shoving the heavy foreboding in his stomach deep down inside him. It was just Kyungsoo and a few of his classmates; what could possibly happen?

+

Sehun slid into the room and tossed his bag over the couch carelessly.

“Oof! Geez, Sehun watch out for the people who live with you huh?”

Sehun moved back to lean over the back of the couch and shove his bag out of Baekhyun’s lap and onto the floor with small smile and a tilt of his head.

“Sorry! I didn’t see you there-”

“Of course you didn’t; you didn’t even look!” Baekhyun followed his younger housemate into the kitchen, determined to have Sehun as an audience until he felt like he’d vented enough. “And why are you home so early? I thought you had a date tonight with Soojung, your girlfriend? Or did you break up with her already- was it a boyfriend you were out with?” Baekhyun paused to watch as Sehun pulled a pudding cup out of the fridge, his throat drying a bit when Sehun’s small, pink tongue darted out to lick the lid. He coughed once, “Junmyeon would be so disappointed in you for eating that. You’re going to ruin your appetite for the dinner he’s bringing.”

“I’m a grown man, Baek, I’ll eat whatever I food I paid for whenever I like. You know I eat like a horse anyway.” Sehun tossed away the lid and leaned nonchalantly against the counter, spoon in one hand and cup in the other. “And it was a girlfriend, but you got the wrong girl. I was with Sulli; Soojung and I ended it two weeks ago, and my last boyfriend was a month and a half ago.” Sehun paused to dig into his pudding cup and then licked it all away from the spoon as if it were a hard candy and not a liquid. Baekhyun reminded himself to breathe and pointedly did not think of the three months during his sophomore year when he’d been the sole recipient of that tongue. “I’m home early because Sulli and I broke up.”

“Sehun, I will never understand how your list of ex’s is longer than the list of people I’ve crushed on, and yet you remain Mr. Congeniality. Why does everyone continue to love you?”

“Because, I’m a kind, warm-hearted, ball of sunshine and treat people as good friends even when I’m casually dating them. They all know I don’t do long term things before I agree to take them out anyhow.” Sehun scooped out the last of his pudding and tossed the cup before pushing away from the counter to step towards Baekhyun. “If there’s any mystery at all, it’s how the only steady boyfriend I ever had still enjoys my company so much that he’s my housemate, even after our tragic parting.”Baekhyun snorted at that and pushed Sehun away. “Shut up, we broke up with each other on the same night at the same party because we both wanted to hook up with someone else. There were no grudges to be had there, no love lost.”

“Mmm. So were you just gonna stare at my mouth all evening or are we headed to your room?”

Baekhyun opened his mouth to question why it had to be his bed when the door to Kyungsoo’s bedroom slammed open.

“My friend emailed me! We’re in, we’ve got jobs this summer; there’s positions for all four of us on the cruise ship.” He made his way out, laptop balanced precariously in one hand and a fistful of papers on LifeTree Cruise Liners in the other. “Is Junmyeon here yet?”

“Nope!” Baekhyun popped the p as he took the papers and moved to sit on the couch with Kyungsoo, the sexual tension from before evaporated with the ease that only comes from being close friends with a clear understanding. Sehun slid down on the other side of Kyungsoo to look at the website. He half listened as Kyungsoo raved about the staff perks and the types of jobs they’d get to do, the majority of his attention focused on the staff group photo on the monitor. His eyes skimmed over a number of cute boys and pretty girls smiling in their bright white shorts and forest green polos- plenty of opportunities to occupy himself, plenty of chances for fun. His eye caught on one grinning boy: his eyes were curved into crescents and his mouth was open wide as if he’d been laughing, full lips stretched in mirth. Sehun smirked. This summer is definitely going to be fun.

+

On the other side of Korea, Jongin stood during a commercial break to get a glass of water when his stomach jerked duly. His mind wandered to all the times he’d sat on the phone, listening to Lu Han cooing his hopes for his Angel Pup to have a whirlwind summer romance. Jongin thought he did well enough ignoring Lu Han’s prodding, and yet he found his stomach clenching, as if full of butterflies. He scolded himself for letting the slight man affect him unaware. Then he scolded himself again for letting Lu Han continue call him Angel Pup; he wasn’t five and in need of a small nine year old’s bandaids and kisses anymore. 

Lu Han tried to say that he only kept up the nickname because he’d switched schools just after it caught on and he hadn’t had time to get sick of it, but in all honesty, that was 16 years ago. If anything, Lu Han still saw him as cute little child he had to keep and protect. And apparently shove ideas of torrid love affairs upon. The corner of the room suddenly illuminated, and Jongin made his way over to see a text message from Kyungsoo.

>

thanks again 4ur help! Baekhyun, Junmyeon, and Sehunnie can’t wait to meet u!! :D

Jongin’s stomach did not jump again at that last name. He didn’t even know a Sehun. He fired off a quick “You’re Welcome” and settled back in to finish the rest of Schoolboys’ Secrets, ready to see which character was about to be unmasked as the villain and if anyone else would discover the main character’s secret.

+

“-and don’t forget: no matter how loud, how obnoxious, how drunk the cruise goers get, it is all of your jobs to keep them happy and more importantly, keep them safe. They all paid for the vacation of their dreams, and we here at LifeTree Cruises hand out dreams easy as…?”

“EASY AS PICKING FRUIT FROM A TREE!”

Chanyeol clapped his hands twice at the eager response from the staff before sending them forth to prepare for the vacationers due to arrive any moment. He grinned into the summer breeze as the ship bobbed with the waves at the dock, not startled at all when a sudden presence appeared at his elbow.

“You know, that call and response thing doesn’t make much sense.”  
“Shut up, Jongin.”

“Really, I see what you were going for there but getting into trees for fruit is usually pretty hard. There’s nothing easy about picking peaches. Have you ever picked a peach, Chanyeol?”

“Jongin, you are the most bratty friend I have ever actually enjoyed being around. I hope Lu Han arrives in the first wave of clients so you can feel what I feel right now.”

Chanyeol smiled as he spoke, calm and serene. He’d missed the younger boy and his unclever quips throughout the year and was looking forward to the coming summer months. There’d be more time for casual bonding now that Jongin’d been promoted in rank and had his own team of happy workers to boss around. Speaking of-

“I didn’t see any unfamiliar faces at this morning’s briefing. Where are your friends?”

Jongin turned to face the ocean, leaning into the railing and sliding along it until he was in the shade of a nearby deck umbrella. “On the way. They got caught up in the tourist traffic.” He looked up at Chanyeol, squinting to see him against the sun. “Sorry about that, boss. Don’t worry, I’ll coach them myself when they get here.”

Chanyeol nodded once and handed Jongin the clip board of points to cover. “See that you do. They’re your crew. All hands on deck for the debriefing after lights out tonight.”

The moment slowed, Jongin skimming through the orientation topics he’d studied for days before coming aboard and had just heard Chanyeol expound in detail. The sound of taxis rolled through the air, engines getting louder as the drivers came to drop off hundreds of excited vacationers. The grin was evident in Chanyeol’s voice when he spoke again, elbow digging into Jongin’s side.

“Mr. Kim. It would seem that our first passenger to board is looking around for someone. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

“I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about, Mr. Park.” Jongin returned, unable to stop the slow smile spreading across his face. Chanyeol took the clipboard back and opened his mouth to retort when a loud, clear voice cut through the air.

“ANGEL PUP!”

Jongin turned towards the voice just in time to catch an armful of his favorite person in the world outside of his mother, father, and sister. “Hey Lu Han. I’ve missed you too.”

+

Kyungsoo shifted in his seat again, adjusting the seatbelt against his neck for the fourth time in ten minutes. His hands came to rest on his knees, nails scratching a rhythmless staccato beat into the denim of his jeans. He pointedly avoided looking at his watch as he searched through the bag at his feet for the worn rule book he’d brought along. Kyungsoo flipped through it quickly, eyes not taking in any of the words he’d read so many times until he caught on one sentence- _Employees are expected to provide service that is refreshing, helpful, and prompt…_

“How much furth-”

“Kyungsoo, I swear I am driving as fast as I can without endangering the lives of everyone on the road around us. I am telling you and have been telling you for the past hour, I will get us to the docks as soon as I can.”

Baekhyun looked over from the passenger’s seat to Sehun, taking care not to twist too far and accidentally make eye contact with the impatient man sitting behind him. Sehun shrugged at the silent question in his eyes and turned to the window with his lips pursed, not sure how to handle the situation. Kyungsoo was understandably bothered at their tardiness, and Junmyeon didn’t sound exasperated but both Baekhyun and Sehun had lived with the two long enough to tell when things were a breath away from exploding on them all. Sehun looked forward again in time to catch Baekhyun mouthing what looked like ‘sorry’. He leaned forward to ask what there was to be sorry for but had hardly shifted in his seat when Baekhyun cleared his throat loudly and then again more softly.

“I’m sure we’re all gonna have a great time working together. Sehun, please do not date the entire staff. I’d like to maybe come back next year.”

Sehun snorted. The air in the car broke as Junmyeon and Kyungsoo immediately came to his aid, chastising Baekhyun fiercely.

“Baekhyun! You know better than that, what is wrong with you?!”

“I agree with Junmyeon. Sehun’s dating habits are none of your business and nothing to laugh at or tease him about.”

“Really Baekhyun, you should be more mature than this; do I need to pull this car over?”

“Apologize, right now-”

A small cough interrupted Kyungsoo’s demands just before Sehun leaned forward to sock Baekhyun in the shoulder. Baekhyun whined at the strength behind the fist and curled in on himself, rubbing at the spot.

“Aw, I’m gonna bruise!”

“While I’m not actually bothered at all, and am rather in awe of your willingness to sacrifice yourself to Mom and Dad’s nagging to keep them from accidentally snapping each other’s necks, I felt that not hitting you for that comment would have set a precedent I’m not keen on encouraging.”

“You still could have been gentler about it!”

“Do you want me to make it up to you?”

“Wait, which one of us is “Mom”? And since when are Kyungsoo and I your parents?”

“Oh Sehun, my complaining about being in pain is not an invitation for you to cause me more pain. I promise, my lower back hurts just thinking about it, you little punk.”

“Hey, my massage skills are awesome. When have you ever left me and felt anything other than a mild discomfort?”

“I can’t really speak for Mama Junmyeon there, but let me be clear when I say I have no desire to hear any more details from your sex lives.”

The car continued on in relaxed silence for a few more minutes.

“Junmyeon, are we close yet?”

“...Tell me what makes me Mom.”

+

“…and then Minseok stopped the ball in a chest trap, and it was so cool, you have seriously no idea. And then later, he scored the winning goal off of a _bicycle kick_ , do you understand how hard that is to do? The amount of strength he must have in his thighs, just imagine-”

“Wow, ok. Lu Han, I’d actually much rather not imagine anything at all, specifically if it has to do with your latest wet dream’s thighs.” Jongin expected the cuff to the back of the head even before he felt the air shift as Lu Han’s hand sliced through it, and gripped the rope he was winding around its holder a little tighter as he braced for impact.

“You shut up. He’s not my-” Lu Han paused, looking up from his lounge chair to contemplate Jongin’s raised eyebrow and smirk. “Ok, maybe he is my latest wet dream, but that’s not all it is, alright! I like him a lot.”

Jongin smiled and nodded, returning the majority of his attention to the rope in his hand. He’d received a text from Kyungsoo not seven minutes prior saying they’d made it to the ship. One look was all it had taken to send Zitao scurrying off to escort the group to their rooms and the uniforms awaiting them in their closets. He needed to finish putting away the last of the surplus supplies so that he’d be totally free to engage Kyungsoo, his friends, and the last of the arriving passengers.

“Hey Lu Han? What time is it now?”

“It’s about 10:15am. Right now at school I’d be in Physics. Minseok’s in my Physics class, ya know. We worked together on this terribad project; we had to build a model car with a brake, but the brake had to be adjustable.”

Jongin figured they would have about one more wave of passengers right after lunch time. If he could get through orientation fast enough, he could maybe even have Kyungsoo and his friends assist with boarding; it would be a good experience for them.

“And on the day of the presentation Professor Lee had this ramp, and he would give people random distances from the bottom of the ramp. Everyone would adjust their brake and then let it roll and it would have been a fun experience but our car sucked!”

“What? Dude, you’re great at physics, why would you not to be able to put together a toy car?”

Lu Han sat forward solemnly and grabbed at Jongin’s elbow to hold his focus before intoning, “As great as I am at math and physics, Minseok in pressed khaki slacks and a black button up is much better.” Lu Han grinned at Jongin’s mocking snort and allowed himself to be shoved away, flopping back onto the chair with arms and legs akimbo. “He looked so good, Angel Pup, you don’t understand. It’s distracting. Anyhow, our car didn’t even make it a fourth of the required distance. We got extra points regardless because our teacher let us all guess how many seconds it would take a car to come to a complete stop. We guessed three, it stopped in three, we had the smallest difference between guess and reality, so! Our write up was our saving grace; we ended up with a B.”

“I’m proud of you man. Getting good grades even amidst the haze of lust and hormones.”

“But of course, Puppy. I can’t wait for you to fall for someone too.”

“Why, so I can be as insufferable and talkative as you?”

The two grinned at each other for a moment longer before Jongin heard Zitao’s happy chattering moving towards their direction, and stood to stretch. He bounced on the balls of his feet twice and planted his fists on his hips with a grin.

“Welp, I’m off to prepare the new troops for battle! If they learn fast then I can get you to finally meet Kyungsoo. See ya later, Lu Han hyung!!”

Lu Han sat up and watched Jongin bounce over to the growing sound of voices, a fond smile on his lips. Sometimes he felt so out of touch with his younger friend, having missed so much of his life while attending the private school two cities over. Small things like this though, little mannerisms that he recognized from a much shorter-much rounder-excited Jongin, made him feel more secure and grounded. He saw a large group round the corner of the ship, three shorter men and two who were taller.

He knew Zitao pretty well from previous cruises, so he let his eyes pass over him to focus on the new boy. Lu Han took in a lean body, a young face, a short blond haircut slicked up in the front, and warm smile directed at the smaller boys ahead of him. Lu Han watched his gaze whip over to Zitao at the Chinese boy’s shout, and then slide along Tao’s pointing arm until his gaze was directed at Jongin. As Jongin came to a stop in front of them, hugging one of the shorter boys, Lu Han saw the tall man’s eyes focus and then suddenly brighten with interest. Lu Han knew he should be focused on figuring out which one was Kyungsoo, and potentially planning to buy the boy a drink during off hours as a thank you for being with Jongin when he couldn’t, and yet- he couldn’t pull his eyes away until he’d made sense of what he was seeing.

The tall boy seemed to glide to the front of the group.Where everyone else had simply spoken to Jongin, this man grasped Jongin’s hand and pulled his boss into his personal space, curled the corners of his mouth up into a dangerous smirk and then a wide grin, suddenly spoke. _I’m Sehun. It’s nice to meet you._ Lu Han saw Jongin answer animatedly, but his focus was on the way the tall boy’s- Sehun’s hand continued to hold onto Jongin’s with fingers tracing along the inside of his wrist; the way Sehun’s posture seemed to shift to curl around Jongin like a protective wall. Other words were exchanged, Sehun finally released Jongin’s hand, and then Jongin was leading the group away and pointing out where emergency medical kits were stored, leaving Lu Han to wonder if he’d just seen what he thought he’d just seen.

+

Kyungsoo shuffled along with his bags, toes centimeters behind Zitao’s heels, in a hurry to get to his room, get dressed, and go meet Jongin. Junmyeon and Baekhyun followed behind him, slightly more leisurely but still with purpose. Sehun brought up the rear, moving slowly to take in his surroundings. He made no effort to keep up; the worker, Zitao, was shortening his stride to accommodate his group and Sehun could catch them easily if he felt it necessary. Sehun could hear Zitao answering Junmyeon and Kyungsoo’s various questions distantly. He only focused in when he heard Baekhyun pipe up with a question of his own.

“Now tell me, Zitao is it? What are the rooming arrangements like here?”

“We workers usually sleep two or three to a room. You’re assigned your room for the first month that we run cruises and in the second month everybody shuffles around as they like.”

Baekhyun leaned forward and shifted his two duffle bags to his left side, one on the shoulder and one in his hand. “So then, how are we split up?”

The whole group slowed to a stop while Zitao popped two keys off his belt loop.

“Baekhyun and Junmyeon hyung will be in this room here with me, number 455. Our neighbors in 454 are two girls, Hyeri and Sojin. Yixing and Jongdae live in 456; you’ll see all of them around.” He passed out the keys and pointed down the hall. “Kyungsoo hyung and Sehun will be down at the end of the hall with Team Leader Kim, across the hall from Supervisor Park.”

“Wait, wait, uhm Zitao? Would Team Leader Kim by any chance maybe potentially possibly be…”

The whole group smiled at Kyungsoo’s bright eyes and happy speculation. Baekhyun and Junmyeon shared a look before they slid their suitcases into their room, ready to explore their small bunker and dress for work. Zitao watched them go with a smile before turning back to Kyungsoo.

“Yup, you two are rooming with Jongin. Hurry and go change you guys, and all of you come to me again when you’re done. I’ll take you up topside and show you to Team Leader Kim.”

Sehun followed behind Kyungsoo and Zitao to his room, his smaller friend practically vibrating in excitement. A quick glance around the room showed him a single bed that was clearly already lived in and then a set of bunk beds up against the wall. Kyungsoo turned around to glance at him and Sehun motioned him to take whichever one he liked first. Kyungsoo moved quickly for the lower bunk directly beside the single bed, shoving his suitcase beneath it and turning to the closet where Zitao was pointing out their uniforms. The bright white of a pair of shorts and dark richness of a forest green polo caught Sehun’s attention as they suddenly whipped through the air to land on his head.

“Hey! Kyungsoo, I know you’re excited but please-”

“Nope, nope, nope, no time! Get dressed and come on so I can introduce you to my friend!”

Not ten minutes later saw the group together again in matching outfits, moving as one towards the stairs to the deck. Junmyeon laughed aloud at something Baekhyun said, and Sehun was suddenly reminded of the picture from the website; he wondered if he’d see that beautiful boy while he was on this trip.

+

Sehun’s answer came much sooner than he expected. In the middle of Kyungsoo’s animated recitation of some story from school, Zitao shouted out. He pointed away from the group, and Sehun looked up to see the boy from the website standing in front of him. Not nearly as short as Sehun had expected, but still only about as tall as his own shoulder, his lean frame incredibly fit and toned. The cut of his pressed polo angled along with the gentle v of his torso, sloping down to thin hips and strong thighs. Sehun sent a thought of extreme gratitude out into the air as the boy bounced on his toes after he released Kyungsoo from an embrace, his white shorts shifting and tightening over the muscle in his legs. Kyungsoo handled introductions; as the group chorused their hellos Sehun slid forward, right hand extended.

“I’m Sehun. It’s nice to meet you.”

He felt Baekhyun’s gaze whip over to him, but the sensation of eyes boring into his skull faded into the background as Jongin grinned up into his face, handshake firm and eyes bright.

“It’s nice to meet you too! Now, all of you, follow me. I’m gonna teach you everything you need to know about the ship in two hours and 15 minutes, and then you’re all gonna assist with passenger boarding.”

Baekhyun finally turned away from Sehun at that, mouth tucked into a frown. “Are we going to be able to handle that kind of responsibility so soon? I mean, boarding passengers when I’m not totally sure how to get back to my bunker.”

“Don’t worry about that. You won’t be the only crew members working then- if you get sent to escort someone to their room a more experience worker will be with you. Besides my orientation skills are no joke,” Jongin chuckled at his own silly bravado, and Sehun decided he wanted to hear that sound again, “by the time I’m done you’ll be a pro. Not to mention, Tao will be around.”

Junmyeon leaned towards Baekhyun with a spare water bottle ready in hand, wondering if the light flush in his face was because of Jongin, because Jongin mentioned Tao, or if it was too much heat exposure. Tao inched closer to Baekhyun with a murmured _I’ll help you with anything, really, just ask me_ that was supposedly meant for the whole group, despite him staring directly at Baekhyun as he spoke. The lack of a witty response and bright red complexion told Junmyeon it wasn’t about the heat or Jongin in the slightest.

Three hours later, Tao stood in front of Jongin on the main deck in front of the restaurant.

“After you finished training them, Junmyeon and Kyungsoo went down with Taeil and Yifan to see where we store food, Baekhyun and I went to check out the laundry room- he’s doing a load now, and… uh.”

“What’s up, Tao? There’s something else and you know I don’t bite, so go ahead, tell me.”

“Eunji stole Sehun.”

Jongin paused, turned on the balls of his feet to face away from Tao, turned back, opened his mouth to speak, turned again, and sighed. “What?”

“Eunji took Sehun. She, uh, she was freaking out because one of the chefs- he was supposed to handle breakfast but he can only cook traditional Korean breakfasts and she wanted to serve pancakes and eggs and such since there are so many foreigners on this cruise.”

_“I swear Zitao, what am I going to do?!” Eunji paced, four steps left four steps right four steps left four steps right, blocking the narrow hallway and preventing Tao, Baekhyun, and Sehun from leaving. “There’s no one on the kitchen staff who can cook a western breakfast, we aren’t five star chefs who studied in France here, we’re just regular people who enjoy and are very good at making Korean food. And these people are so picky about their eggs. Like, this woman just walked up to me with a little Korean-English dictionary and I’m pretty sure she asked me if we would have eggs benedict in the morning. I don’t even know what eggs benedict are?”_

_Tao floundered, unsure what to say to help or at least to calm her down enough for him and the two other boys to leave. He was about to try and dash past her when Baekhyun piped up._

_“Sehun knows what eggs benedict is! Sehun, what is it?”_

_Sehun chuckled once and cocked his head with a smirk. “It’s just an English muffin, ham or bacon, a poached egg, and some Hollandaise sauce. Not hard to make once you’ve done it once or twice.”_

_Eunji froze. “Tao, who are these kids?”_

_“New staff. This is Baekhyun, and this is Sehun.”_

_Eunji returned Baekhyun’s ‘nice to meet you’ and stepped closer, gripping Sehun’s biceps and narrowing her eyes. “Sehun. Can you cook pancakes?”_

_“Yup.”_

_“Waffles?”_

_“Yup.”_

_“Can you make all the strange permutations of eggs that I haven’t heard of, cook western breakfast meat, make them all in large numbers, and teach others at the same time?”_

_“I’ve done it once before for a summer camp thing. I only had to help out for a week though.”_

_“Tao, what’s his job?”_

_“He doesn’t really have one yet; he’s on Team Leader Kim’s crew and they just finished orientation and training.”_

_“Sehun, my name is Team Leader Jung, and you work with me now. Tao, take Baekhyun wherever you were headed, and tell Jongin I stole his crew member out of necessity when you fill him in later.”_

_“But-”_

_“Hush Tao, it’ll be fine. You, Sehun, follow me. I need to show you the food and then take you to the kitchen.”_

Jongin only shook his head before smiling at Tao. He knew what a whirlwind Eunji could be, especially when she was determined or focused. He dismissed Tao to finish helping Baekhyun with the laundry before heading off himself to tell Chanyeol about the staff change.

+

It was 11 o’clock at night when Sehun finally left the kitchen. The night shift had just woken up, had their meeting with Chanyeol, and then dispersed to their duties, leaving all of the day crew free. Sehun heard Eunji call out to meet on deck for debriefing or face her fury and sighed to himself- almost free.

“I promise I’ll be there, Team Leader Jung. Do I at least have time to go wash the smell of food off?”

“Yeah, if you hurry to your room now and no one’s in your shower. You know how to get down there?”

“Yeah, I’ll make it. Thank you, leader.” He cooed the words and got a playful slap to the shoulder for his efforts before she shoved him out the door into the hall with a grin.

“Sehun, I’m going to have to watch out for you, aren’t I? I’m off to find Jongdae and Yifan. Sit with who you like.”

He watched her go, long dark hair swinging, and hoped to himself that a certain other pretty laughing team leader and she weren’t so close that if he were to break up with one the other would become off-limits. The thought reminded him that he shared a room with said other team leader. Kyungsoo had once accidentally mentioned while drunk that his best friend Jongin was into boys. Maybe if the team leader caught an eyeful of Sehun strolling out of the bathroom freshly showered their relationship as co-workers could move in a more pleasurable direction. Sehun ducked his head at the thought and tried to bite back a grin. He really did have a small crush on Kim Jongin, as he did with all his flings, and he saw no reason that this attempt would turn out any differently than the rest.

+

“Now, if everybody’s here, we can go ahead with our first debriefing of the season, and I promise to keep it brief too! Aha, now these won’t be nightly things. I’ll put up flyers outside my bunk door with any announcements at the end of each day, and we’ll have a large proper meeting like this every Thursday night.” Chanyeol spoke to the group with barely contained enthusiasm. As he continued on, Jongin suddenly got up from where he was sitting between Shinwoo and Kyungsoo to crouch-walk over to seat himself between Sehun and Junmyeon. He turned left towards Junmyeon and Baekhyun and then right towards Sehun and Kyungsoo, flapping one hand towards himself in a motion that said “scoot in!” until the boys were gathered in a small circle around him. Tao, who’d been sitting on the far left by Baekhyun leaned closer to hear what was happening and Shinwoo looked on in interest, but they both turned back towards Chanyeol when they realized what Jongin was saying.

“Look, Chanyeol- er, Supervisor Park’s got this thing where he’ll announce something he thinks is worthy of public praising and then he’ll say “give so-and-so a clap!”” Jongin paused to look around the group. “When he does that, don’t burst into applause. Just clap once and stop. It’s called the Thunder Clap; he learned the technique back in high school. Tons of people got awards at the end of speech team season and instead of taking forever applauding everyone the entire theater gave one clap for every name called. It’s a huge time saver.”

Assured that his little band of employees wouldn’t be embarrassed on accident by doing the wrong thing, Jongin motioned them all back to their seats. He moved to stand up and head back over to Kyungsoo, but just as he began to move he was stopped by Sehun resting a hand on his mid-thigh and leaning in as if to whisper. On instinct, Jongin tilted his ear towards Sehun’s mouth and leaned closer to hear.

“Hey, stay by me? I know I’m not really on your crew anymore and I’m sure you wanna catch up with Kyungsoo, but I’d like to get to know you. Sooner rather than later, before we settle into our roles as co-workers and it becomes awkward and random for me to flirt with you.”

Jongin flushed at the straight forward sentiment and the feeling of Sehun’s breath warm against his ear. He blinked up at the sky, unaware of Sehun’s amazed gaze tracing along the cut of his jaw, over his lips, and lingering on the still-pink apple of his cheek. Out of the corner of his he saw a figure walking around by the bar on the sky deck. Though it was too dark to make out features, he knew that gait anywhere and was sure the person was Lu Han. Thinking of his friend led his mind to Lu Han’s constant needling about romance and the thought of settling down into a serious relationship made Jongin scrunch his nose in distaste. Sehun tried to bite back his giggle at the cute sight and failed, causing Jongin to look over at him, reverie broken.

“Yeah I’ll stay. And don’t worry about settling into roles you don’t like. We share a bunker still, remember?” Jongin leaned closer, tilted his chin up until his nose nearly brushed Sehun’s, and licked his lips from habit. “You’ll have all the time you need to change my mind after work.”

Sehun only grinned, pleased with the team leader’s emboldened behavior, and turned towards Chanyeol once more. Jongin faced forward himself and then leaned against Sehun’s arm, letting his head rest on the taller man’s shoulder, prompting Sehun to wind an arm around his slight waist. Sehun knew it: this was definitely going to be a fun summer.

+

In the days following, the cruise liner set sail with all of its passengers, crew, and cargo safely aboard and everyone found themselves settling into some semblance of a routine. When Kyungsoo woke up Sehun was already gone and Jongin was lacing on his shoes and heading out the door. He would run a quick shower, be dressed and out of his room in time to catch Baekhyun, Tao, and Junmyeon walking past his door, and follow them up the stairs to the cafeteria. Kyungsoo’s spoon clattered against his bowl as he pushed the last of the hot broth into his mouth, careful not to slurp so loud that he missed Jongin’s instructions for the day.

“…and Tao and Junmyeon will be running Seniors’ Shuffleboard on the lido deck from 10am till one. Baekhyun,” Jongin glanced up to see where the slighter man was seated and pivoted to face him, the pen in his hand bouncing as he gestured, “will swing by around noon after he finishes loading the laundry to let one of you eat a quick lunch. You’ll both get fifteen minutes to eat, one at a time, and when you finish you’ll return to your post and Baek will go eat.”

Jongin watched his group nod their heads, taking extra care to be sure they all expressed understanding before continuing. “Baek, today you’re in charge of washing the towels. Jongdae and Yifan are collecting them from the passengers now; after breakfast you just head down to the laundry and they’ll all be there. Kyungsoo, you’re gonna go with him. That’s all I have for this morning guys. Find me in the afternoon and I’ll send you wherever you’re needed most. Dismissed!”

Junmyeon gathered up as many bowls, utensils, and used napkins as he could before heading over to the kitchen door where Shinwoo was waiting with a trashcan and Yixing was holding a large plastic bin labeled DISHES. Tao and Baekhyun followed, each holding their own bowls and carefully walking a foot apart only to lean into each other’s space laughing and then spring back. Kyungsoo made to walk behind, a quip to tease the blossoming couple already half formed on his lips when Jongin gripped at his elbow lightly.

“Oh, hey, Jong- Team Leader Kim.” Kyungsoo caught himself in time to use the proper title, and smiled when Jongin flushed but didn’t insist he be called anything else. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, Soo, I know you don’t have lunch plans yet, and I was wondering if you’d come to the restaurant with me. I want you to finally meet Lu Han.”

“Ah yes, the elusive Lu Han, one Kim Jongin’s most beloved older brother. Sure I’ll come; I’ve been dying to meet him.”

“Great! I’ll meet you outside the laundry room at noon when you and Baek are finishing up.”

The two friends separated with a smile. Jongin headed off to organize signups for a deep sea diving expedition, heart hammering in his chest at the thought that it was _finally happening. Kyungsoo and Lu Han were finally going to meet._


	2. Chapter 2

“Hello sir, is it just you today?”

“Oh no, party of three, please. The others should be arriving shortly.”

“Under what name?”

“Lu Han.”

Lu Han followed the hostess to a small round table in the back, next to a row of small, high windows. He waited a few paces away while she straightened the sweet white table cloth with little blue trees along the hem and set menus at each of the three seats. Nodding his thanks as she left with a “your server will be right with you”, Lu Han pulled out one of the tan wicker chairs and made himself comfortable before looking over the drink menu. Busy contemplating the wisdom of drinking alcohol during his first meeting with his best friend’s best friend, he failed to notice the rest of his lunch group approaching. He looked up when a shadow fell across his menu and then hopped out of his chair to greet the newcomers.

“Angel Pup!”

Jongin pulled him into a close hug and allowed him to bury his face in the small gap between his work polo and neck. “Hey, Lu Han, how’ve you been?”

“Oh, great, great. I caught a movie yesterday over in the theater, and this morning I was over on the lower promenade pretending to be a coffee connoisseur and trying different blends.”

Kyungsoo watched the two with a soft smile. It was obvious to him that Jongin and this other man- clearly the famed Lu Han- were close and comfortable. It didn’t seem so much that Jongin was any different with Lu Han than he’d been with Kyungsoo throughout middle and high school, but there was a definite air of extreme ease between the two. He only had to wait a few minutes before Jongin was reaching back to grip his wrist and pull him a half step forward.

“Lu Han, this is my best friend, Do Kyungsoo. Soo, meet my best friend, Lu Han.”

The two shook hands and then everyone sat down. Their server, Niel, came by and took everyone’s drink orders and once those were brought the boys settled into easy conversation. Kyungsoo took a sip of his ginger ale before crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward.

“So let’s talk about names.”

Jongin paused, straw clamped between his lips and lemonade halfway to his mouth, to furrow his brow in slight confusion. Lu Han only nodded before setting his orange soda aside to lean on the table as well.

“Well, Lu is my family name. I’m actually just Han, but since its more common to have a two syllable name here in South Korea than just one syllable, I usually go by my full name.”

Kyungsoo ducked his head to the side, a kind of _ah, so I see_ type of gesture and then his lips took a wicked tilt, smirking in mischief.

“I admit that I was wondering about that, but when I asked to talk about names I was more referring to Mr. Angel Pup over here.”

Lu Han clapped in unrestrained delight as Jongin groaned and thunked his forehead down onto the table. Jongin was starting to think maybe introducing the two men had been a shortsightedly poor decision on his part, meanwhile Lu Han and Kyungsoo felt the whole thing smelled of the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

“Oh, Kyungsoo, let me tell you,” Lu Han began as he wiped tears from his eyes, “my Angel Pup has been Angel Pup ever since he was five years old.”

“Oh, no way.”

“Seriously Lu, no way.”

“Shhh, Puppy, you knew this was coming. Anyhow, Kyungsoo- yes way. We were at the playground and I saw him fall off of the slide, right? So I run over, and I’m unzipping the little fanny pack I always carried around trying to get out my emergency bandaids, antiseptic wipes and little gauze packets falling everywhere. When I get to him I kneel in front of him, ready to doctor him up and then be on my way, and he looks up at me with his little thumb in his mouth,”

“Ugh, Lu Han.”

“Yes, yes! Whining just like that, except he didn’t know my name yet, but he sat there, thumb in mouth making these cute, little, high pitched whines, looking up at me with big glassy eyes.”

Kyungsoo grinned and poked at Jongin’s cheek, laying his own cheek against the table in an attempt to make eye contact with Jongin. “Dude, do you remember all this? You actually did this stuff?”

Jongin lifted his head quickly to narrow his eyes at Kyungsoo. “You sound far too gleeful about all of this. Yes, this all happened, and yes I remember. Of course I remember the first time I met Lu Han, just like I remember the first time I met you or any of the friends who matter to me now.” With that, he put his head back down on the table and Kyungsoo turned back to Lu Han, prompting him to continue with an eager nod of the head.

“So he’s looking at me, and I’m looking at him, and then he pulls his thumb out of his mouth and in the sweetest little whisper says “Mister, my knee stings;” and he points at my overflowing fanny pack and asks “can you fix it?”

Kyungsoo squealed and covered his huge smile, cheeks rounded so much that they betrayed the grin behind his hands. Jongin wriggled in his seat and turned his face away from the other two, hoping they wouldn’t notice him smiling along. He didn’t want to encourage their storytelling or teasing, but he was happy to see the two getting along so well. Lu Han collapsed back into a slouch and threw his left hand up over his heart.

“I’m telling you, Kyungsoo, right there at the foot of the slide I fell totally in love and adopted the sweet little boy with the puppy eyes into my heart as my very own little brother, and I haven’t let him go ever since. He was just so precious and kind, and didn’t make fun of my accented Korean like the kids my age at school did. My own personal angelic puppy, and he hasn’t changed a bit in all the years we’ve known each other.”

Jongin could feel the fond gaze leveled at the back of his head by both Kyungsoo and Lu Han, and refused to sit up until they stopped looking at him all soppily. After that the atmosphere eased up and the three men continued to talk, eat, and laugh. More embarrassing stories were shared, and by the end of the hour Kyungsoo and Lu Han had traded phone numbers for when the cruise ended.

+

Jongin made his way down to his bedroom alone that evening. Kyungsoo had left him by the casino, claiming that Tao and Baekhyun were inside waiting to meet up with him. He’d invited Jongin to join them, but after the long day all he wanted was to go back to his bunker and relax, maybe read a book. He stopped by Chanyeol’s room, checking for any relevant announcements posted outside his door. Nothing pertained to him or his team, so he entered his room and gathered his things for a quick shower.

As he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair and the last of the suds off his body he heard the door to the room open. Thinking that maybe Kyungsoo had returned after all, Jongin got out and reached for his towel. Finally dry, he noticed with a frown that he’d forgotten his pajamas on his bed and brought in an extra hand towel instead. Shrugging, he wrapped the towel around his waist and used the hand towel to scrub the excess water from his hair. He stepped out of the bathroom, ready to ask Kyungsoo what he was doing back so early, and came face to back with a man who was far too broad and too tall to be Kyungsoo.

“Hello, Sehun.”

Sehun returned the greeting without looking up from where he was digging through his suitcase. When he finally pulled out whatever it was he was digging for (Jongin thought it looked like shower gel) he looked over at Jongin. Jongin prepared himself for the leer he was sure was coming, but all he got was a soft smile and crinkled eyes. His surprise must have shown on his face because Sehun stood up with a chuckle and a shake of his head, and extended his arms to ask for a hug. Confused but curious, Jongin moved into the embrace, only remembering how naked he was underneath the towel when Sehun’s arms closed around him, hands splayed across his back.

“You seem a bit put off. Why are you confused; did you think I was gonna make a move on you?”

“Just a little bit, yeah.” Jongin shifted hesitantly, slowly lifting his arms from where they hung by his hips to grasp the sides of Sehun’s shirt in his fists. Sehun pulled the hug tighter and buried his nose in the hair at the crown of Jongin’s hair for a moment before leaning back to look into his face.

“Well, there’s no need for that. We have to live together; it’d get really unbearable really fast if I reacted like I was being seduced every time you showed a bit of skin. This is your room too. You should be able to lie in your bed in any state of dress you’d like without worrying about me.” Sehun let him go and moved to finish collecting his own toiletries while Jongin tried to convince himself he’d shivered because it was suddenly colder without Sehun’s body heat, not because he lamented the loss of strong arms supporting him. Sehun stood in the doorway between the bathroom and the bunker and looked at Jongin.

“I am attracted to you, Jongin, but I promise, you could drop your drawers in front of me and I wouldn’t bite. Unless, of course, you asked me to.” And then the door was shut, Jongin left to wonder if he’d really seen that wicked gleam in Sehun’s eye or if he’d imagined it there out of his own desire. He moved to dress himself mechanically, considering how obvious it would be that he was trying to get off if he took another shower as soon as Sehun got out. Dull hissing started up as water rushed through the pipes in the walls and then Sehun’s voice filled the room, the lyrics to Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty floating through the shut bathroom door. Jongin choked back the little giggle that tried to force its way out, but did nothing to hide the smile that crawled across his face at Sehun’s saxophone impersonation. He glanced over at the clock and decided that even if Kyungsoo didn’t come back soon he and Sehun would be just fine without him.

+

Kyungsoo sat by a slot machine, unaffected by the noise of vacationers losing all their money and enjoying every minute of it, watching Baekhyun fumble to put his money into the token machine. Tao stepped up behind him and boxed him in, reaching around the much smaller body to smooth the bill against the corner if the machine and try to feed it in again. If it had been Sehun and Baekhyun, Kyungsoo would have been positive that Baekhyun was faking a struggle on purpose just to close the space between the two; as a matter of fact, Baekhyun would probably fake needing help only to get it together just as Sehun came to hold him and slip away. The two always seemed to dance around each other in a cat-and-mouse game that was more a pleasant habit than any real desire to tease.

The only reason Kyungsoo noted the difference is because when Sehun and Baekhyun played, he could laugh and egg them on, almost a participant himself. Tao and Baekhyun together, however, made him feel like a third wheel. He was awkward and uncomfortable, not sure that what he was witnessing was meant to be shared outside the two people involved. He hummed to himself and looked around for a possible escape. Partly because he didn’t like to be left out, but mostly because he wanted Tao and Baekhyun to get together quickly. Sehun had had a string of short, easy relationships after he and Baekhyun broke up, but Baekhyun hadn’t really dated anyone else. Kyungsoo always felt Baekhyun was a romantic type, only getting into relationships he thought would last, and had broken up with Sehun to avoid the younger man’s pity. It was good to see him with someone he liked.

Kyungsoo spotted Junmyeon walk past the door to the casino and jumped up to follow after him. Leaving Baekhyun and Tao with a “off to see Junmyeon, don’t wait up”, he jogged out of the dark space and into the hall after his friend.

“Hey, Junmyeon wait a minute!”

Junmyeon turned towards him, bags under his eyes but a smile on his face. “Hey, Soo, how’s it goin?”

“It’s been fine. I haven’t really been able to talk to you in a couple of days; how’s work going for you?”

“Tiring, but good.” Junmyeon scrubbed a hand over his eyes and then raked it through his hair, before turning and heading for the stairs. He motioned Kyungsoo to follow with a wave of his hand, and led him up topside. The two men made their way over to the railing to look out at the stars reflecting in the water before he continued. “I’ve been having fun, making friends. Jongdae is almost as terrible as you are; he drives Eunji and especially Yifan up the wall. If Yixing wasn’t there I don’t think Yifan would ever be calm. I try to stay out of Tao and Baekhyun’s way. It’s been cute watching them dance around each other.”

“Yeah, I understand. I was supposed to spend the evening with them in the casino, but they looked so sweet together I just left when I saw you.”

Junmyeon nodded his understanding before turning to Kyungsoo with a wild looking grin.

“So, speaking of potential couples. How’s reuniting with Jongin? You haven’t seen him since high school, right?”

“Hey, now, Jongin and I aren’t like that.” He shoved at his friend with his shoulder, incredulous laughter getting lost in the sound of the ocean.

“Yeah, sure.”

“No really. We’re just friends. Maybe once, back when we first met, we might have been able to date but we’re too comfortable now. It’d be like dating my younger brother.”

“Understanda- ahh! Oh, excuse me.”

Kyungsoo watched Junmyeon fight to excuse himself properly through his yawn with a fond smirk, and then thumped him on the back a few times. “Hey, why don’t you go to sleep. You clearly need to.”

Junmyeon detached himself from the rail with a nod.

“You coming with?”

“Nah, I’m gonna stay up here for a little while.”

“Alright. Go to sleep sometime tonight, though, please.”

“Yes, Mom~.”

Kyungsoo dodged the tired swipe Junmyeon made at him and then returned to looking out across the water. He’d only been alone for about fifteen minutes when he felt another body settle beside him.

“Hi, Kyungsoo. You like beer?”

“Hey, Lu Han. Yeah sure, I’ll take one.”

Kyungsoo opened the proffered can and took a swig before turning to face Lu Han full on.

“So, what’s up?”

“I just came to say hi. And, ya know, thank you.”

“Thank me?”

Lu Han ran the pad of his finger around the rim of his beer can, slowly and careful, mindful of sharp spots. Sensing that the conversation was getting serious, Kyungsoo stood up straight and leaned forward to hear him continue in a lower voice.

“I know you didn’t befriend Jongin for my benefit. You didn’t even know me. But. Even though he and I are close, I wasn’t able to be physically present in his life for a long time. Just- there were a few months when I first moved away; he’d call me during a thunderstorm or after he failed a test, and I could hear him trying not to cry, and he’d ask me to just talk to him. I did the best I could to comfort him with only my voice, but imagining him sitting alone in his bed cradling his phone to hear me…”

Lu Han trailed off, before snapping up like his spine had been replaced with a rod to look Kyungsoo directly in the eye. He set one hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and squeezed kindly.

“I’m so glad he met you in middle school. I’m glad there was someone who could hug and cuddle him. Thank you, Kyungsoo, for caring for Jongin.”

Kyungsoo smiled and nodded his understanding, and threw an arm around Lu Han’s shoulders in a half hug.

“It was my pleasure. Taking care of the young ones is my specialty, don’tcha know?”

“Right, right, of course. Tell me about your other young one, the big one. Jongin says he’s older than your other boy.” Lu Han laughed along, allowing Kyungsoo to steer the topic into something brighter.

“Yeah, Sehun is younger than Jongin. Not by more than a few months though. He and Jongin are really similar; both are silly, passionate, kind, sunny people. I think they both have a mild manga obsession and I know they both dance. It’s interesting how two people so alike can interact with the world so differently.”

Noticing Lu Han’s confusion, Kyungsoo continued on, “Sehun’s always dated a lot, short happy relationships that never really went anywhere but the bedroom and yet still ended with Sehun and his ex as friends. Every single person he’s gone out with has left him with only good things to say, and they never mind the break up. Meanwhile, Jongin hasn’t dated ever and shuffles uncomfortably at the thought of some poor soul walking up to him with a serious confession.”

“True, true, Puppy seems like he wants romance deep down, but he’s awkwardly skeptical of anyone who approaches him. It’s gonna take a special someone to have him considering a relationship.”

“And what about you Lu Han? Any special someones in your life?”

Lu Han paused and looked at Kyungsoo with a flush in his face creeping down to his neck and a happy grin.

“Oh. Oh, Kyungsoo. Come, friend. Walk with me. Talk with me. Let me tell you about Kim Minseok.”

+

Tao stood outside the cafeteria and waited for Jongin to finish giving Baekhyun extra instructions on how to organize the afternoon bingo contest. He smiled when Baekhyun finally stepped out, and gave the smaller man a quick squeeze on the bicep. The men turned and made their way to theater to run the morning’s movie and help pass out snacks.

“You ready to do great?”

“I would love to do great but I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“Ah, you’ll be fine. Team Leader Kim wouldn’t assign you this if he didn’t think you were ready to handle it.”

“I know, I know. But still, we’ve only been at sea for five days. Couldn’t he have waited until next week to make me try this?”

“It’s only a two week cruise Byunbaek. Wouldn’t you rather have your first try with vacationers you’re already kinda familiar with, rather than brand new people you don’t know?”

“I suppose,” Baekhyun sighed, and leaned into Tao’s arm as they walked down the stairs to the lower promenade deck. “Oh! Wait. Did you bring the scoop for the popcorn from the cafeteria?”

“Ah, no, I forgot it but I thought Team Leader Kim would have given it to you since you were still in there. Do you want me to go get it?”

“Nah, you’re better at setting up the projector than I am anyway. Go ahead, I’ll run and get it.”

Baekhyun turned and hustled back down the hall, up the stairs, and across the deck to the cafeteria the workers used. He slipped into the kitchen, grabbed the scoop from the To Be Put Away clean dishes rack and spun on his heel to head back to the theater again. He paused at the doorway between the kitchen and the seating area though at the sound of low voices, one of them awfully familiar. Peeking his head out slowly he saw Team Leader Kim jump as fingers poked his sides, halfheartedly swatting the hands away as he giggled. Baekhyun bit his lip in amusement at the cute sight, and then the hands reached out again and grasped the team leader’s waist, pulling him out of Baekhyun’s line of sight.

“Stop, you have to go up to the bigger kitchen and cook for lunch.” Team Leader Kim whispered quickly, not sounding very much like he actually wanted whoever it was to stop.

“I know, but I’d rather stay here with you. Don’t you want me to stay with you?”

Baekhyun stepped back quickly, luckily not knocking anything over to give his presence away. That voice- that was Sehun’s voice. When had he made a move on Jongin? Baekhyun contemplated the development, and found he was strangely unbothered. Normally he felt highly nosy about Sehun’s new dates, but this time he only hoped Jongin was as enamored of Sehun after they broke up as everyone else so that everyone’s friendships could remain unstrained.

“Team Leader Kim, you smell really good, you know?” Sehun teased.

“It’s your soap, doofus.”

“I know. I like it a lot; I like that you smell like me.”

“Stop, stop nosing at my neck; that tickles! Sehun! What if someone comes in?”

“Is there a rule against this? I didn’t see one in the handbook, and anyhow, you’re not my boss anymore. Eunji is, so it wouldn’t matter.”

“You’re so determined today, what’s with you? Not- uh- not that I, ya know, dislike it or anything. But…”

“This morning, I saw you. You accidentally put on my polo before realizing and switching to yours, but. You look so good in my clothes; they’re so big on you. I wanted to grab you and kiss you then, but then Kyungsoo came out of the shower-”

“Now hold on, even if Kyungsoo had stayed in the bathroom do you think I would have let you kiss me?”

Baekhyun listened to the two men flirt without irritation, and wondered what was different this time. Tao’s smiling face came to mind unbidden, and Baekhyun blushed. So that’s why he didn’t care. As soon as he heard Jongin and Sehun slip away he rushed out of the kitchen and headed for the theater. Now that he knew how he felt for sure, he wanted to tell Tao immediately.

He got back to the theater just as people started drifting in for the feature. The projector was already set up, and he and Tao worked side by side in silence, only speaking to greet the patrons looking for seats. Together, they finished seating and serving everyone in ten minutes. Baekhyun introduced the movie to the crowd, some foreign action flick with subtitles, and then cut the lights as Tao hit play. He walked carefully over to the back of the theater and grabbed Tao’s wrist to pull him along until they were in the back corner.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Baekhyun shivered at the breath ghosting over his ear as Tao whispered and stood on tip toe to answer him.

“I really like you Tao. Date me?”

He enjoyed the slow flush crawling up Tao’s cheeks and tangled his fingers with Tao’s, waiting for an answer.

“Well, yes, Baekhyun, yes. But- what brought this on all of a sudden?”

Checking that everyone was focused on the movie and that no one looked like they’d need anything soon, Baekhyun pulled Tao further out into the hall where they could talk easier.

“Tao, I knew you were important to me, but I didn’t realize just how important until a few minutes ago.”

“What are you talking about Baekhyun?”

“See, Sehun dates around a lot. Like, a lot a lot. He only ever had one serious relationship, and that was with me a couple years ago. It only lasted a few months but after we broke up I was still always really curious who he was with. But just now, upstairs, I saw him with Jongin. And I didn’t care! I didn’t care at all, and when I tried to ask myself why my thoughts had changed all of a sudden, all I could think of was you.”

“You… you used to date Sehun?”

“Wait, don’t be like that. Used to, yes, but I’m not now. And it’s been such a long time. The point is, even if we weren’t together he was always really important to me. I never really thought I’d find someone more important than him; equally as important, maybe, but never _more_ important. But you, Tao. You’re more important. You’re so special to me, and I don’t ever want to lose that, so I’m staking my claim on you now. Okay, _boyfriend_?”

Tao only answered by pulling Baekhyun into a tight hug. When he finally let go, Baekhyun turned to head inside, expecting Tao to follow. Noticing his new boyfriend wasn’t behind him he stopped and turned back.

“Tao? You coming?”

“Wait, just- you said Sehun dates a lot?”

“Well, yeah?”

“And he’s with Team Leader Kim now?”

Understanding clicked in Baekhyun’s mind and he moved to hold Tao’s hand.

“Look. Sehun’s a good kid. He just doesn’t do long term things, that’s all. Even if they’re flirting now, Sehun won’t ask Jongin out until he’s sure Jongin’s okay with it being a quick fling, and if Jongin doesn’t like that then Sehun will back off. Don’t worry about your friend, ok?”

Tao still didn’t look convinced, but he let Baekhyun pull him back into the darkened theater anyway, wary of being scolded if caught away from their post.

+

Jongin walked up the stairs, behind Sehun, their hands clasped together as Sehun led him along. Since they’d woken up that morning, if the two of them were anywhere near each other Sehun had been touching him somewhere. The constant pressure on his wrist, or hip, or lower back, or shoulder had been nice, even if Kyungsoo had teased them both relentlessly. Now, as they headed up to the upper deck for lunch, Jongin tried to remind himself that they weren’t quite a couple yet. Friends could hold hands; holding hands was a perfectly friendly thing to do. No matter how many times he repeated that in his mind though, his heart couldn’t help but clench whenever Sehun looked back over his shoulder and squeezed Jongin’s fingers kindly. They reached topside in silence and ran into Chanyeol, Lu Han, and Tao. Jongin called out a greeting to his friends, smile full and bright, only hesitating a bit when both Lu Han and Tao’s gaze zeroed in on his hand wrapped in Sehun’s. He was about to ask what was wrong when Chanyeol beat him to speaking.

“Hey, guys! Off to lunch?”

Sehun nodded and replied, but Jongin didn’t hear anything he said, still lost in his mind wondering what could be bothering two of the happiest people he knew. A tug on his wrist and then he was spinning to his left, Sehun’s free hand coming up to cup his cheek as they faced each other.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go with Supervisor Park. Things in the kitchen need handling and Team Leader Jung wants all cooks.”

“Oh, no that’s fine. Go ahead, work comes first.”

Sehun headed back down the stairs towards the kitchen, and Chanyeol clapped Jongin once on the shoulder.

“Sorry about stealing your lunch date, man. Eat with Lu Han and Tao, okay? I don’t want you sitting all alone because of me.”

Jongin waved him off with a smile, and then Chanyeol was gone, following Sehun down below. Two pairs of hands gripped either of his arms and bodily moved Jongin into the restaurant. Once seated with drinks, the atmosphere got even more agitated. After watching Tao nudge Lu Han and Lu Han nudge him back for the fifth time, Jongin broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.

“Since when have either of you not told me exactly what you had to say and played around an issue like this?”

It seemed like his permission to speak freely was all that was needed because as soon as the words died on his lips Lu Han was leaning forward to grasp his arm.

“Angel Pup, I know I’ve been bugging you about finding love, but I don’t want you to settle with a playboy just for my sake, ok? Be with someone only if you really really, I mean _really_ like them.”

“Wait, what?”

“Team Leader. You, you know about Sehun’s dating history right?”

Jongin eyed them both warily before answering. “I don’t know all the details, but from his stories it seems like he’s dated a lot of people before. Why?”

Tao sat forward, “And you know that none of those relationships lasted more than a few weeks, right?”

“Really, I don’t see the problem here, guys. Not every dating relationship is going to last four years with multiple vacations and rainbows all the time. So he’s dumped a few people, been dumped a few times-”

“No, Puppy. He doesn’t get dumped.” Lu Han shifted in his seat and looked to Tao for reassurance. The other man nodded and so Lu Han plowed on. “Sehun will probably tell you this himself at some point but, he doesn’t do long term relationships. Like, at all. Kyungsoo mentioned it to me and Baekhyun told Tao.”

“What kind of people gossip about their friend’s dating habits?”

“Puppy, please. You know Kyungsoo better than that. We were discussing the similarities and differences between you and Sehun.” Jongin nodded while looking at Tao to avoid Lu Han’s baleful gaze.

“And, uh, Baek told me as part of his confession. He used to date Sehun, and he said Sehun seemed to have found another new crush,” Tao glanced up at Jongin and then away, a starry glaze taking over his eyes, “and that normally that bothered Baekhyun, but this time it didn’t. Because, well, because of me. He said I was more important.” It was clear Tao was trying to keep a straight face for Jongin’s sake, but the thought of Baekhyun was making that difficult. Lu Han and Jongin both congratulated him quietly and then Lu Han focused on Jongin again.

“Look Puppy, Sehun isn’t a bad kid. And I don’t think he wants to hurt you. He’ll probably tell you he doesn’t do serious relationships and ask if you’re ok with that before he asks you out. I’m just worried you won’t get the warning before you actually fall for him. I know how much romance actually means to you, even if you never show it.”

The group quieted as Jongin considered this new information. “Guys, I appreciate your concern. And thank you, for wanting to be honest and upfront with me. But, I think… I think I’m gonna be fine, even if Sehun doesn’t love me. Even if it’s just a game,” Jongin sat up straighter, the jut of his chin defiant, “who says I’m not just playing around too?” And with that he got up and left the restaurant, dropping a tip on the table without ever ordering any food.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey, Kyungsoo.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think tonight, just for an hour or two, you could not be in the bunker?”

“Oh Sehun, what are you planning? I know you’re not about to try to rope my best friend into a quickie; if you’re gonna seduce him at least wait till we’re at a port and you can get a nice hotel with a real bed and the whole night.”

“Shh, Soo! No, I wanna explain to him the way I date and then ask him out. Could you leave us for that, please?”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer, only stared Sehun down before gathering the last of the dirty dishes from the table he was bussing and pointing a fork in Sehun’s direction.

“We get off at eleven tonight. I am going to bother Junmyeon. You have until one am. And then I am coming to sleep, no matter what.”

“Bless you man, bless you.”

+

Jongin finished double checking the things his crew had put away and then headed down to his bunker slowly. He hoped Kyungsoo was there to act as a buffer between him and Sehun after his conversation at lunch. He knew Lu Han and Tao’s warning had been in good faith; they had only wanted to make sure he didn’t fall in love with a man who didn’t commit and admitted so freely. When he pushed open the door to his room and saw Sehun turn to look down at him from his bed with bright eyes and no Kyungsoo around, he sighed inside. If only the warning not to fall in love had come sooner, maybe then he could have saved himself; it was too late now. Sehun clambered down from his bunk and plopped onto Jongin’s bed, stretching his long arms out in silent request. Jongin shut and locked the door behind him before crawling across the bed to settle into Sehun’s lap and wait for whatever was coming.

“Hiya, cutie.”

Even as he sat there broken hearted, Jongin couldn’t help but react to Sehun, cheeks burning and lips curling up at the corners as he nuzzled into Sehun’s arms to hide the blush on his face.

“Hi, Sehun.”

“Jongin. We have a lot of the same friends, and I don’t have any secrets, so you may have heard any number of things about my past by now. Am I right?”

“You date a lot.” Jongin grumped. Sehun lifted him from his hiding place to look him in the eye, one hand on his chin.

“That’s right, I do. Does that bother you?”

Jongin wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell Sehun that it bothered him, that Sehun should date him and only him, that they belonged together. Instead, he only shook his head no in Sehun’s grasp.

“Nah, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Good.” Sehun grinned. “Now, I don’t do long term relationships, but I still get crushes and butterflies and all that. It’s not like I’m just picking any and every willing body that’ll look my way, though there’s nothing wrong with that. I meet lots of people, some of them I like more than others and the people I like who like me back I date. After a few weeks the spark kinda dies, ya know? Relationships take work, and dedication, and I’m not ready for all that. So I go out with people while it’s fun, and when it turns into work we break up. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“It makes sense. I’ve never met anyone else who lived like you and didn’t lose all their friends and burn all their bridges but-”

Sehun cut Jongin off by pulling his leg, maneuvering the smaller boy’s body until he was sitting on Sehun’s thighs, straddling his lap and facing him. Sehun rested his hands on Jongin’s shoulders, brushed his thumbs across his collarbone. He murmured something that sounded like _so beautiful_ before dropping his hands down to bracket Jongin’s waist and looking him in the eye.

“You’re right. Not many people manage to do what I do as well as I do. And the reason is because they don’t do what I’m doing right now: explaining everything up front, no secrets, no tricks. I won’t promise you a lasting relationship, like I said I’d only date you until it seemed more like a chore than like fun, but I will promise you a real relationship. I really like you, Jongin, and if you’ll have me I will spend the rest of our time together learning you and your likes and dislikes inside and out. I can promise right now that you will be treasured and cared for, that I won’t smother you, that I’ll hold your hand whenever you want. I just want to make you feel good.  
        I understand if you can’t do that, and regardless of whether we’re dating or not you’re a friend I’m gonna want around for a long time. So. Kim Jongin. Will you be my boyfriend?”

Jongin closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He wanted this, he wanted to say yes, but how could he when he knew that at any moment Sehun would look at him and see an obligation instead of a lover? How could he, when he knew that when that day came, whenever it came, Sehun would dump him and never look back, and he wouldn’t even be able to be upset because he’d been expecting it all along? He struggled, Lu Han and Tao’s warnings racing through his mind, and then he decided.

“I don’t know if you’ve asked anyone about my past Sehun, but I can tell you now I’ve never been exclusive anyone. And,” he swallowed, willing his voice not to crack as he lied, “and I don’t ever really want to. We can kiss and mess around and eat together. I’ll hold your hand and let you cuddle me during breaks. There isn’t anyone else on the boat I want to be with, but I still don’t want to limit myself. I’ll date you, Oh Sehun, but I won’t be your boyfriend.”

“Alright, I can live with that.” Sehun smiled up at him, and Jongin pretended he didn’t see the way Sehun’s eyes lit up at his words.

+

Lu Han woke up and stretched, prepared to laze around all morning in his room. It was the last day of his cruise, and after fourteen days on a ship that he’d visited at least once every year for the past four years there was little to do he hadn’t already done. An easy day in bed appealed to him far more than any of the day’s activities listed on the ship itinerary. He sat up against his headboard and pulled out a book when a soft knocking against his door caught his ear. He hadn’t ordered room service or anything. Eyebrows furrowed and steps hesitant, he walked the small distance to his door, and opened it to reveal a wet cheeked, red eyed Jongin shuffling his feet and sniffling.

“Um. Are you busy?” Lu Han didn’t bother to answer that, stepping out into the hall and shepherding the crying man into his room. He sat Jongin on the bed and climbed up next to him, wrapping thin arms around his shoulders.

“What’s wrong, Angel Pup?”

“You, you, you tried to warn me, but you were- it was already too late. I thought if I could- if I just stepped back it would be fine, but Lu Han what if I can’t?” Fresh tears broke and ran down his face. Lu Han sat and rocked him, humming the same little tune he’d made up the first time Jongin had called him during a thunderstorm. Once his friend had calmed down, Lu Han shifted and tried again.

“Alright, Puppy. Easy this time- what’s wrong?”

“You told me not to fall for Sehun once.”

“I did, and Tao did too.”

“When you two told me, it was too late. I- I was already head over heels for him.”

Lu Han froze, and turned to look Jongin directly in the face.

“You were? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t think it mattered. And that night, he asked me out, and he told me he didn’t do long term things, just like you said. I didn’t want to date him knowing it would end, but I also couldn’t just walk away.”

“Jongin, what did you do?”

Chin tucked into his chest, his answer was hard to hear, but Lu Han caught it anyway.

“I told him we could fool around, and I’d date him, but I wouldn’t be his boyfriend. You can’t break up if you never officially got together right?”

“Oh Puppy, no.”

“These past few days hadn’t been bad; things between us were pretty much the same as before, except instead of Kyungsoo fake gagging at how touchy we were, he was fake gagging at our good morning kisses. But I went to see him in the kitchen today, and one of the other newbies, Jiyeon, was acting like she wanted to reach around him but she was really just pressing herself against him.”

“And he let her? Knowing you were right there?”

“He didn’t see me. And yes. No. Both? He just laughed and asked her if she thought she was sneaky; poked her cheek and then gently pushed her to the side. He didn’t let her just grind on him, but he didn’t tell her to back off either. And I know it’s my fault.”

“What?! No, Puppy, don’t say that.”

“No, no it is. If I had said yes, we’d be dating and he would have shut her down, because he’s a faithful guy. But I told him we shouldn’t be limited to each other, so we’re not, and I said it to protect myself, but all I’ve done is set myself up to spend the season watching people throw themselves at him till he finds someone else he likes who’s actually willing to date him.”

Lu Han tried to find the flaw in Jongin’s logic, but he had a point. If they had been a couple, he wouldn’t have had to see things like that.

“But Angel Pup, if you had dated him, you’d be constantly worried about him leaving, so much so that he’d probably leave sooner.”

“I know. And if I had just said no all together, we’d be friends with no kisses and I’d still have to watch him flirt with other people. Lu Han, I hate him and I want him off my boat.”

“Shhh, Puppy, you don’t hate him and it’s not your boat. You’re just heartbroken, that’s all.” Lu Han pulled Jongin’s head to rest on his shoulder, and dragged one hand up and down his young friend’s back. “Look, I can’t say I like how you’re going about this. But you’re an adult and no matter what you do in this situation it’s gonna hurt, so I leave you to pick your poison. I’ll say this though- you might want to look into getting some emotional distance into this. The less attached you are, the less it’ll hurt.”

Jongin sniffled, and then they sat in silence, just rocking together.

“Thanks Lu Han.”

“No problem Angel Pup. You have a lot of work today?”

“No. I’m free until we dock at noon.”

“Stay here and cuddle with me?”

Jongin thought that though the first cruise of the season was usually hectic, this summer had been entirely too much. He could do with a relaxing last day.

“I’d be glad to.”

+

Junmyeon grunted as he dragged the last of the cleaning supplies into storage and handed them in to Jongdae. Three weeks on the ship and moving things around hadn’t gotten any easier. He was absorbed in his work when a voice grabbed his attention.

Hey, Junmyeon. Are you terribly busy right now?”

Junmyeon glanced up from where he kneeled in the supply closet, a bucket full of sponges in hand, to see Eunji leaning around the door frame.

“No, I’m just helping Jongdae put these away for Taeil. What’s up?”

Eunji waved at Jongdae and got a small smile in return before he turned back to his work.

“It isn’t a big deal, its just that we start preparing for lunch in an hour. Normally Sehun’s in the kitchen by now, making sure the breakfast stuff is out of the way but he’s not there. He isn’t late yet, so I’m not gonna go chasing him down, but I was wondering if you knew where he was. He never breaks routine like this.”

Junmyeon shook his head apologetically, unable to help. Eunji nodded and headed back to the kitchen, leaving Junmyeon to wonder where exactly his friend was. It occurred to him that Sehun seemed to lose all sense of time when he was with Jongin and he mentioned it to Jongdae.

“Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. It never causes trouble though, what with Team Leader Kim being so responsible himself.”

“True, but if there was one thing I know, its that there’s a first time for everything.”

“If you want some time to go help Team Leader Jung clear out breakfast, just the two of you, I can go find Sehun and Team Leader Kim.”

Junmyeon flushed but mumbled his thanks before striding off, leaving Jongdae and his knowing grin. Shoving the bucket in place and dusting his hands off on his pants, Jongdae set off to make sure the lovebirds were alright.

He found them sitting on the ground by the theater. Just as he showed up, Yixing and Shinwoo called out to Jongin from inside the projector booth.

“Team Leader Kim! There’s two versions of today’s movie; which should we play?”

Jongdae hung back to let Jongin and Sehun say goodbye, confident now that he wouldn’t have to drag Sehun away to the kitchen. He watched in slight confusion as Jongin stood up and tossed a “see ya.” at Sehun and stepped away without a touch. Sehun shot up from his seat and grabbed at Jongin’s wrist to still him and walked around to face him. Sehun leaned in to peck Jongin on the forehead before letting him go, and received a small nod and a squeeze to the forearm in return, and then Jongin was gone. Jongdae caught Sehun’s attention and herded him up the stairs. He made no mention of how distant the two had seemed; even the perfect couple had to have off days.

+

Sehun watched the last of the vacationers disembark, their two week cruise over. The second cruise of the season was behind them; it’d been a month since he’d started working. The ship would sit in the port for a day, reloading and refueling, and then the next day it was set to take on a whole new load of passengers. Tonight, all the crew workers would decide how they wanted to mix their rooms around. He knew Baekhyun would stay with Tao, and Kyungsoo wouldn’t leave Jongin. He’d thought he’d stay with Jongin too, but with the way things had been lately he wasn’t sure. The sound of Eunji’s laughter rang out across the ship but just like it hadn’t for the past two weeks, it didn’t peak his interest at all. Breakfast was over for the day and dishes were all cleaned, leaving Sehun with nothing to do but stay out of the way while others finished off their jobs before going on shore to relax. He turned when he heard footsteps walk up beside him.

“Oh, hey Junmyeon.”

“Hi Sehun. You know, I’m surprised; the way you two were before, I didn’t think I’d see you without Jongin attached to your arm once you two got serious.”

“Well. We’re not exactly serious.” Sehun brooded. He could feel Junmyeon’s eyes on him, the man not pushing him to speak but still prepared to listen. He tried to hold back from speaking, but a soft hand on his shoulder had everything tumbling out. “He wouldn’t be my boyfriend. We aren’t exclusive. When he said he wouldn’t date only me, I thought “oh, here’s someone who not only accepts how I work but probably works really well with me”, but. I don’t think he meant it. He seems so shut off from me now, not as open as he was before.”

“Hmm. Maybe before was Jongin About To Be In A Relationship and this is Jongin Having A Fling.” Junmyeon thought his explanation would pacify Sehun, but when he looked over his grip on the railing had tightened until his knuckles were white and the muscle in his jaw jumped sporadically.

“See, I was afraid of that.”

“Afraid of what?”

“I was afraid,” Sehun sighed as he released the rail, “it’s all backwards, Junmyeon, and.” His hand swiped through his hair, rough, undoing the style he’d spent all morning perfecting. “This is how I operate; I date while it’s a fun fling, I leave when its relationship you have to work on.”

Junmyeon nodded in understanding. “But things with Jongin were fun when you were headed to a relationship, and now that you both understand it as a fling its work. I see. But, if it’s work now, why don’t you break up with him? As well as you can break up with someone you’re not dating, anyway.”

“Because.” Sehun looked at Junmyeon, eyes full of fear and something else Junmyeon hadn’t seen since he’d left Baekhyun. “Because I want to make it work with him. I already know he won’t have me, but I still want to try. I don’t know how though; I’ve never done that before. I just want my bright, smiley Jongin back, and this time I want him to be mine, all mine, only mine. How do I do that? What do I say?”

Sehun’s voice sounded smaller than Junmyeon had ever heard it. He didn’t like to make it a habit to meddle in his friends’ lives, but looking at Sehun suddenly seeming every bit the young boy he was made Junmyeon want to take care of him.

“You go help some of the others finish up their work, Sehunnie.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find Kyungsoo.”

+

An hour later, Jongin thunked down the stairs to his bunker, steps lethargic, and opened the door to find Kyungsoo and Junmyeon nodding at each other determinedly.

“Oh I’m sorry, Soo, Junmyeon. Am I interrupting; I can leave…”

“Oh no, Jongin, don’t mind me. I’m heading out now. You just stay here, and uh, sit with Kyungsoo.” Junmyeon pulled Jongin into the room, stepped out into the hall, and pulled the door shut before Jongin could protest anymore. He looked up at Kyungsoo holding a notepad and pencil suspiciously; back in high school the man always started doodling right before he trapped Jongin into an important conversation that Jongin usually needed but didn’t want to have.

“Soo, you never draw unless you’re going to scold me, so just out with it.”

Kyungsoo dropped the pencil on his bed and set his paper aside with a shrug.

“Don’t forget you asked.” He stood up, and though he was much shorter than Jongin, he seemed to fill the whole room with his presence. “I know you’re in love with Sehun, so why are you acting like you’re not?”

Jongin spluttered, reaching for answers he didn’t have.

“No, no don’t even start. Lu Han asked me to keep an eye on you before he left.”

“He did what? No, no way, he wouldn’t.”

Kyungsoo arched one eyebrow, judgment dripping from his words. “What did you think was going to happen when you introduced your two best friends-slash-older brothers to each other? Congrats kid, you’ve got a dynamic duo tag teaming to make sure you don’t screw up everything on accident and to hug you when you manage to screw up anyway. Like right now.”

Jongin slumped down onto his bed, shoulders hunched. He had nothing to say for himself and rather than try to make things up in his defense, he kept silent. Kyungsoo sat down next to him, and whispered into the still air.

“Look, it’s not your fault. No matter what you would have told Sehun when he asked you out, you would have ended up here, moping and heartbroken because you wanted different things and you were already in love. And it’s not Sehun’s fault either. He didn’t magic you into giving him your heart, and he never asked for it either. He knows he’s unorthodox, and he’s always been upfront about that. Sometimes life happens, things change. And right now, if you would stop nursing your wounds long enough to look around you, you’ll notice that some of those changes may be in your favor.”

“What? What changes were in my favor?”

Kyungsoo nudged him softly. “When was the last time Sehun was happy, really happy?”

Jongin paused to think; it took him awhile and he finally realized that Sehun had been moping as long as he had. In fact, the last time Sehun had seemed totally happy had been-

“When he asked me to be his boyfriend.”

Kyungsoo nodded once, one finger tapping his temple twice and then pointing at Jongin.

“He watches you, you know Jongin. When you’re cleaning, or laughing with Chanyeol, or calling Lu Han from whatever port we’re in. He stares at you, looks at you like you’re the whole world.”

Jongin’s throat worked, clicking at the dryness as he processed what Kyungsoo was saying. It was too good to be true, he couldn’t mean what Jongin thought he meant. He felt his eyes watering and he shut them quickly, not wanting to cry anymore for this, and shook his head.

“No. No, no, no-”

“ _Yes_ , Jongin. I’m your friend, and he’s my friend too.” Small hands gripped at his jaw to stop his head shaking. He wanted larger, rougher hands holding him; he wanted Sehun’s hands. “Listen to me when I tell you: You need. To go talk. To Sehun. Before we rearrange rooms for the rest of the season. Before tonight.”

By the time Jongin opened his eyes again, the hands on his face were long gone and the room was empty. He sat for a moment, and then he jumped up and raced out of the room and up the stairs. He needed to find Sehun.

+

Sehun shuffled through the port city market, trying not to let everything he saw bring up some memory of Jongin. He felt so stupid. The one person he wanted to have a relationship with, and it had fallen apart before it even had a chance to be recognized. He’d thought about maybe talking to Eunji, just to try, but then he’d seen Junmyeon walk up to her with a flower in his hand and a grin on his face. They looked good standing next to each other; Sehun hoped they’d get together and stay together even when things got difficult. He felt like the walking poster boy for what not trying did. He stood at the edge of the mart, ready to walk into the city and not return until the morning when he heard faint cries of his name, slowly growing in volume.

“Sehun! Sehun! Dangit, Hun I know you hear me, stop walking you doofus!”

Sehun turned slowly, eyes shut and praying he wasn’t imagining things, that when he opened his eyes Jongin would really be standing there in front of him.

“Hey, doofus. Open your eyes; look at me.”

He blinked them open slowly, and then there was Jongin, standing in front of him nearly out of breath, hair wild from running against the wind. Sehun licked his lips and opened his mouth, but found he had no words. He really had no idea what to say. Swallowing nothing hard, he went to try again only to be stopped by Jongin’s hand in his face.

“Wait, just don’t, don’t say anything yet. Just. You told me you ask people out with the understanding that you’re going to break up with them, right? Just nod your head or shake it.”

Sehun nodded once, eyes filling with tears, and he tried to tell Jongin that that wasn’t true anymore, that he didn’t want to leave him after all, but Jongin cut him off with a firm shake of his head.  
        “No, let me finish. Ok so you, you take people out with a deadline of sorts in mind. And I always knew I would ask someone out with every intention of staying with them for as long as I possibly could. So. We tried it with you asking me, and it failed.”

Sehun realized he was holding his breath, but he couldn’t bring himself to exhale. Not yet, because it sounded like Jongin was headed in a direction Sehun wanted more than anything but he wasn’t sure. He physically couldn’t bring himself to breathe until he knew for sure. Jongin licked at his lower lip, before standing up straight and looking Sehun in the eye.

“So let’s try it like this. With no time limits or deadlines, trying as hard as we can every day to make it work, for as long as I love you and until you can’t love me. Oh Sehun, will you be my boyfriend?”

Jongin paused, all his bravado gone now that he’d managed to put the question out there. It felt like time was stretching on infinitely long before Sehun cradled his face in his hands and whispered _yes, a million times yes_ into his lips over and over between kisses.

+

“Alright, my hardworking honey bees! Today, you get to swap rooms until you’re all paired up with the friends you’ve made this first month. Choose wisely; just because someone is a good friend doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be a good roommate. For the sake of some of your relationships, you should avoid it.” Chanyeol grinned as the crew around him laughed at his light (truthful) advice. “I’m staying in my room of course, so that’s that,” he checked his own room off the list on his clipboard.

“The room across from me, Kyungsoo, Jongin and Sehun. Kyungsoo, are you staying?”

“Yes, Supervisor Park.”

A check mark. “Alright, Team Leader Kim, you staying?”

Jongin nodded. “I’m staying.”

Another check mark. Jongin could feel four pairs of eyes on him; he assumed it was Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Tao. He kept his gaze forward and focused on Chanyeol, his expression carefully blank, and felt Sehun fidget beside him.  
“Ok, and Oh Sehun, are you-”

“He’s staying.” Chanyeol looked up at the interruption to see Jongin staring at him with a goofy grin, Sehun’s arm firmly wrapped around his shoulders. “Team Leader’s orders, Supervisor Park. He’s staying in the room with me.”

Chanyeol grinned. “Hell yeah! I mean, uh” he coughed once and nodded authoritatively, “Mr. Oh will be remaining in the room with Mr. Kim and Mr. Do then. Yes.” He moved on down the list. Eunji moved into the room next door to Junmyeon, who stayed with Baekhyun and Tao. Tao nearly missed his turn to answer, because he was busy trying to get Jongin and Sehun’s attention. He wanted details of course, the whole group did; Lu Han would have to be told as well. Jongin figured they could wait, and Sehun wholeheartedly agreed. They’d missed almost three weeks of each other, and they had the rest of the summer to make it up. They wanted to savor every moment of it.


End file.
